RKC failed to reach the semi-finals of the tournament to reach the KNVB Cup. At home, the Waalwijkers lost 0-4 against AZ. The defeat was entirely their own fault.
Thirty minutes had just been played when the game in Waalwijk had already been decided. RKC had easily given away a place in the semi-finals. This could be explained in three ways.
B-team
It already started with the line-up in which RKC coach Joseph Oosting opted for nine changes compared to the game against Willem II. He mainly opted for the B-garnish. Something he did more often in this tournament, for example against ADO and Harkemase Boys.
But also opting for the reserves against AZ was more than a misjudgment. The Alkmaarders are of a different caliber than the previous opponents. Still, RKC knew that it could beat AZ. It had actually done that in the very first round of play.
Blunders and unnecessary mistakes
Within ten minutes, RKC was already behind. It gave the 0-1 gift to the visitors. RKC’s second goalkeeper Issam El Maach served Yassin Oukili, but the midfielder only had three around him and soon lost the ball. In the end it was Dani de Wit who punished the mistake in the back.
At the 0-2 of AZ, the RKC goalie did not look good again. After Roy Kuijpers lost the ball, a pass could be made from the left. El Maach got another hand against it, but also tapped the ball at the feet of Vangelis Pavlidis. The striker was able to score in an empty goal.
The damage for RKC got even worse before halftime. Saïd Bakari fouled Owen Wijndal after which the VAR and referee Edwin van de Graaf decided to give the visitors a penalty. Jesper Karlsson shot the opportunity flawlessly. 0-3. Match decided.
Missed opportunities
The story above suggests that RKC had nothing to say in the match. Nevertheless, the Waalwijkers had two unmissable opportunities after the 0-1. First Lennerd Daneels managed to miraculously not get the ball over the line, on the advice of Odgaard. A minute later, Ilias Bel Hassani’s lob went just wide.
RKC was entirely to blame for the fact that the match had already been decided at half-time. The rest position was unnecessary. In the second half, AZ scored one more time, via Zakaria Aboukhlal it became 0-4.
In retrospect, it remains speculation what would have happened if Oosting had opted for his strongest line-up. Or how the match would have gone if one of the chances for RKC had gone in with a 0-1 score.
The fact remains that RKC is stranded in the quarterfinals of the cup. No shame for the Waalwijkers, but most supporters will have left the stadium with a bad feeling. Because an excellent opportunity to get to the semi-finals was childishly thrown away.